| Director | Jerry Zucker |
|---|---|
| Budget | $22 million |
| Box office | $505.7 million |
Banker Sam Wheat and his artist girlfriend Molly Jensen move into a Tribeca loft with the help of Sam's best friend and co-worker Carl Bruner. One night, the couple is attacked on the street by a mugger, and though Sam appears to chase him away, he returns to a devastated Molly cradling his bloodied corpse and realizes he has died. A bright beam of light shines down on Sam, but he stays with Molly, and the light disappears. As a ghost, a despondent Sam remains by Molly's side. He is unable to interact with the physical world, and the other ghosts he encounters are unhelpful.
Sometime later, the mugger breaks into Molly's apartment, but Sam drives him away by scaring her cat, which scratches his face. While pursuing the mugger, Sam is attacked by a hostile ghost on the subway train who can move physical objects. Sam follows the mugger back to his apartment, learning his name—Willie Lopez—and that he targeted Sam. Sam later encounters Oda Mae Brown, a charlatan psychic medium, but he realizes she can hear him. He harasses Oda Mae until she agrees to warn Molly that she is in danger.
Molly refuses to believe Oda Mae's claims that Sam's ghost is warning her until Sam tells Oda Mae to say "ditto"—his response whenever Molly said she loved him. Molly tells the police and Carl about Willie, but they dismiss the story and disclose Oda Mae's history of fraud, leaving Molly disheartened.
Meanwhile, Sam follows Carl and learns that he hired Willie to rob Sam of his book of bank passwords. He needs them to launder $4million in drug money through an account held by the fictional "Rita Miller" for his criminal partners. Carl breaks into Molly's apartment and steals Sam's book. He later attempts to seduce Molly until an enraged Sam inadvertently knocks over a picture frame. Sam returns to the subway and convinces the hostile ghost to teach him to reliably interact with the physical world by focusing his emotions.
Sam visits Oda Mae, who has become popular with ghosts trying to contact the living, and sees another ghost possess Oda Mae but be exhausted by the effort. He convinces her to pose as Rita Miller to withdraw the drug money, which she reluctantly donates to charity. Molly sees the transaction occur during a visit to the bank. As Carl panics over the missing money, Sam uses his abilities to torment him. Carl visits Molly to discuss the haunting, and she unwittingly reveals that Oda Mae withdrew the money. While Molly is upstairs, Sam attacks Carl, who threatens to kill Molly if the money is not returned that night. Carl and Willie travel to confront Oda Mae, but Sam warns her to hide and then terrorizes Willie, causing him to run into the road and be struck by a car. Shadowy figures drag Willie's screaming ghost away.
Oda Mae and Sam return to Molly's apartment, where Sam levitates a penny to convince Molly he is present. After Molly calls the police, Oda Mae allows Sam to possess her so he can dance with Molly. However, the possession leaves him weakened and unable to help when Carl breaks into the apartment. Carl takes Oda Mae and Molly hostage and demands the drug money, but Sam recovers in time to attack him. In a panic, Carl swings a suspended metal hook towards Sam and tries to escape through a window. However, the hook swings back and shatters the window pane, causing a large shard of glass to impale and kill him. Sam witnesses the shadowy figures dragging Carl's ghost away.
As Sam checks on Molly and Oda Mae, the beam of light returns, allowing them both to see and hear him. Sam thanks Oda Mae for her help and kisses Molly, telling her he loves her. She responds, "Ditto", and Sam walks into the light.